Chapter 330: Five Years

On New Year's Eve, Zhang Ping'an was still the main force for wrapping dumplings; his younger brother had to look after the pregnant Qin Jingru, and Li Aihua also had to keep an eye on the active Weiguo, which meant that while there were more people in the house, there were fewer people actually wrapping dumplings.

Zhang Laohan didn't care about that; he rolled the dumpling skins with a smile, feeling happier the more children the Zhang family had.

After working until past nine o'clock, they had filled six lids, enough to eat until they went back to work on the third day of the lunar new year, and only then did Dong Dani stop.

"Everyone wash up and go to sleep; the three of us men will stay up for the New Year."

In the past, even if the younger brother wanted to stay up, he would be sent to bed by his father, but now that he was married, he was an adult.

"Dad, why don't you go to sleep too? I'll look after Xiao Le."

"Hmm... let's wait until next year."

"Alright."

The three men chatted aimlessly like this; all three were energetic types, and it wasn't until the table clock struck twelve that they went to boil the dumplings to eat.

"Go to sleep."

On the first day of the lunar new year, everyone wore new clothes; although setting off firecrackers was not allowed, it couldn't stop the women from gossiping about family matters, and they couldn't go three sentences without mentioning their sons or grandsons.

He Yuliang and Yan Jiedi finally got engaged, and Yan Jiekuang also got a job; he just needed to return to Qi Family Village after the new year to handle the paperwork before he could return to the city.

Before the new year, Qi Qinghai had entrusted Yan Jiekuang to bring over quite a few local specialties from Yantai City, and this time when he went back, Zhang Ping'an also gave a return gift and even gave a red envelope to his godson, Qi Tongwei.

The three-day holiday passed quickly, and Zhang Ping'an returned to his position as Deputy Director of Logistics; Zhu Weiguo liked to hold all the power, which actually saved Zhang Ping'an some trouble—unless there was a necessary business trip, he could just slack off in the office every day.

In April, He Yuliang got married, and in May, Qin Jingru gave birth to a son, while Donglai and Bang Geng's families both had daughters.

In June, Zhang Ping'an seized an opportunity to go to Xiangjiang again; seeing Lou Xiaoe's bulging lower abdomen, Zhang Ping'an's mouth twitched—this was a fertile constitution; no wonder in the original story, Shazhu and Sha Ezi hit the mark on the first try.

"Brother Ping'an, the land for the pharmaceutical factory has been secured, and the factory building will be finished in another month or so; once the machinery and equipment arrive, we can start large-scale production."

"Machinery?" Zhang Ping'an was stunned; in his impression, there shouldn't be any traditional Chinese medicine-related machinery at this time, right?

"Yes, things like the guillotine machine, herb planing machine, shelling machine, and herb cutting machine; they can improve production efficiency."

"Brother Ping'an, labor in Xiangjiang is expensive; if we use all manual labor, it's not only not cost-effective, but the efficiency is also low."

"Hmm... you guys just handle it; my brain is still stuck in the Mainland, and I haven't switched over yet."

"I brought a lot of Sijiucheng specialties this time; Xiao'e, let's go pay a visit to your parents."

"Okay, sure."

Zhang Ping'an drove the car, following Lou Xiaoe's directions, and arrived at the Lou family's hillside villa.

Lou Bancheng didn't put on airs, but he was a bit disgruntled; not only had Zhang Ping'an quietly whisked his daughter away, but now a second child was on the way.

"Ahem, Uncle Lou, Aunt Tan."

"Still calling us uncle and aunt?" Lou Tanshi said with a smile.

"Well, Mom and Dad."

"Oh, good."

"That's Aunt Liu, Aunt Wu, and Aunt Wang," Lou Xiaoe whispered in Zhang Ping'an's ear to introduce them.

Because Zhang Ping'an had come in a hurry, Lou Bancheng hadn't had time to notify everyone in the house; only he and a few of his concubines were home.

"This old Lou, he's not a good bird either," Zhang Ping'an thought to himself.

"Aunt Liu, Aunt Wu, Aunt Wang, this is the main product for our future pharmaceutical factory; this is an upgraded version I made, and it has miraculous effects for anti-wrinkle and anti-aging."

This was made with medicinal herbs from his space, and the effect was very strong; Zhang Ping'an had only made one vat, and he felt a bit of a sting giving away four large jars this time.

"Oh?"

The women clearly didn't believe him; they had used all kinds of high-end cosmetics here, and despite how well each one claimed to work, the actual results were usually just average.

"Ping'an, how do you use this? I'll go try it," said Lou Tanshi.

"Mom, just apply it lightly to your face after washing, wait ten minutes, and then wash it off."

"Alright, I'll go try it."

Zhang Ping'an also prepared two ten-jin jars of medicinal wine for Lou Bancheng, one for nourishment and one for kidney strengthening.

"Ahem, well, good. A Fu, help move these to the wine cellar."

"Yes, sir."

More than ten minutes later, Lou Tanshi walked out of the inner room looking excited; her face, which had been in its fifties, now looked like that of a beautiful woman in her forties, almost as if she had been rejuvenated.

"This... Xiaoqin?" Lou Bancheng said from the side, unable to believe his eyes.

"Yes."

Lou Tanshi was a bit embarrassed by everyone's gaze and blushed slightly, which made Lou Bancheng feel a bit stirred up.

Seeing this, Lou Bancheng's three concubines quickly grabbed the inconspicuous large porcelain jars in front of them, and one by one, they couldn't wait to test the effects themselves.

Not long after, the three of them came out looking excited; they were clearly much younger, looking like proper middle-aged beauties. Lou Bancheng's eyes lit up, but he felt a dull ache in his kidneys.

"Oh my, sir, Xiao'e really found a good husband."

"Isn't that the truth."

"Our Xiao'e really knows how to pick a husband."

"..."

The concubines, who had originally paid no attention to Zhang Ping'an, were now incredibly enthusiastic toward him, and Lou Xiaoe held her head high like a proud rooster.

"Alright, alright, everyone tidy up and get ready for lunch; Ping'an, let's go to the study to talk."

"Alright."

The two went to the study upstairs, while Lou Xiaoe was immediately surrounded by the aunts, who presumably wanted more skin cream.

"Ping'an, how much of this effect will the future factory production have?"

Lou Bancheng hadn't taken it to heart when Lou Xiaoe told him about the factory, but now that he had seen the results, he had to take it seriously.

"About thirty or forty percent; what I used today was my secret recipe, which can be used as a high-end product line later on, and the medicinal wine is about the same."

"Hmm... do you need my help with promotion?"

Zhang Ping'an's eyes brightened slightly; Lou Bancheng could now be considered a middle-to-upper-class figure in Xiangjiang, and with him taking the lead, the later advertising fermentation might happen even faster.

"That's great. I originally intended to split the shares into four equal parts, but I can't let you and the three aunts work for nothing; one percent each..."

"Eh~ we are all one family now, so there's no need to draw such clear lines. Just bring some of this Skin Cream to your aunts from time to time, cough, and that Medicinal Wine will do," Lou Bancheng interrupted before Zhang Ping'an could finish.

His family's current savings were enough to live comfortably for generations, and his businesses were all managed by his sons, so he didn't care about this one percent of shares; besides, his daughter already held a quarter.

"Alright, I'll set these shares aside for backup for now."

Beauty skincare and masculine virility were absolutely two of the mainstream industries of the future; it was normal that Lou Bancheng didn't think much of it since the pharmaceutical factory wasn't built yet, but it was hard to say for the future.

"While you're helping to promote it, please also conduct a simple market price survey."

"Hahaha, you kid, fine, I understand."

At lunch, Zhang Ping'an enjoyed the treatment of a son-in-law at the Lou residence, with everyone being incredibly enthusiastic.

"I've asked my mother and the three aunts to help promote it in their circles; I believe that once our products hit the market, they will definitely be snapped up."

Xiao'e knew best about the infighting among these concubines; with this whitening and anti-wrinkle Skin Cream, they would surely fight tooth and nail for it.